Berni asks for ‘judicial tools’ to deport foreign criminals

Security Secretary Sergio Berni (file photo).

Security Secretary Sergio Berni has asked lawmakers to provide “judiciary tools” to deport foreign criminals from Argentina soil, after five Chilean men were arrested in the Buenos Aires City neighborhood of Balvanera for attempting to rob a supermarket.

Berni demanded lawmakers to help him “stop foreign criminals” and sanction legal instruments to prevent them from “re-entering the county.”

“This is not a xenophobic claim. I just want to make the deportation process more efficient,” Berni told reporters.

“There are many criminals that enter Argentina, start with minor offences and then pass rapidly to murder,” he added.

Berni said a “serious debate” on the matter is necessary, while revealing last week the police made 150 detentions, 50 of which were foreign men.